The Chaotic Overpower in the Freezer
by Theta Serpentis
Summary: Written for a Norsekink prompt. AU. When he finds out he's a Frost Giant Loki runs to Midgard and hides in SHIELD's industrial freezer, eating all the ice cream. Someone has to coax him out.


**A/N:** This was written for a prompt at the Norsekink community on Livejournal. The original prompter was anonymous and I originally filled the prompt there. I've also probably rated this higher than it needs to be.

**The Prompt: **Even before Thor was banished the Midgard Loki had been popping down for vacations or whenever he needed a break from Court functions or to wait for pissed off prankee's to calm down. But he gets bored. Easily. So sometimes he sets all the clocks in the world back and hour, or turns cars into ice cream, or any number of low-casualty pranks. Sometimes he even helps out with the superheros if he's feeling particularly combative, or even offer a little assistance to the villains just because he wants to see the results of Victor's latest experiment.

The thing is, no one knows who or what Loki is, all they know is that this guy has been around for practically ever (if you know where to look) and they've all gotten used to him. Some can even manage to talk him around to helping out -Coulson, Tony - on occasion. When he finds out he's a frost giant Loki runs to Midgard and hides in SHIELD's industrial freezer, eating all the ice cream. Someone has to coax him out.

Bonus if Loki pulled off some major rescues/assists in WWII with Steve because, as Loki puts it, "They started it."

**Disclaimer:** Everything recognisable from the Marvel Cinematic Universe belongs to Marvel and its affiliates and I am neither them, nor making any money off this.

* * *

**The Chaotic Overpower in the Freezer**

**Or: Steve Rogers – Hostage Negotiator Extraordinaire**

The Chaotic Overpower – like irony and coincidence – was a force of nature.

The first definite references to the Chaotic Overpower came in the eleven hundreds. The being they described seemed younger than that which was described in later reports – a fact which was considered as evidence by those who do not believe 'he' is an anthropomorphic personification of chaos.

Whatever he – or it, considering the glee it took in shape shifting – was, by Steve's time the term Chaotic Overpower was in common use. Although, it had only really been the inventions of film and photography (and the images of him that they captured) that changed the reports and portraits from stories in to proof that some strange and powerful sentience really was at work.

The Chaotic Overpower was separate from religion. He was not something one may or may not believe in: he was _there_. He also never showed any interest in religion – in fact, on one occasion he had bluntly told an attacking nun that he was nothing to do with any sort of devil because both good and evil had rules and he did not.

Steve had not been surprised when the Chaotic Overpower had barged into a meeting Howard Stark had been holding and bluntly informed everyone that he (it?) was joining them in their war against the Nazis. Steve was intelligent enough to understand that a creature of chaos would find the determination for sameness, which seemed to echo throughout every part of Hitler's ideology, highly objectionable.

Steve had been surprised when he'd looked the Chaotic Overpower in the eyes and seen the haunted look of someone who had been bullied and ostracised staring out. Steve had not, therefore, been surprised when they two of them had – in spite of their differences – become fast friends (neither of them, it seemed, liked bullies …perhaps that was why the Chaotic Overpower's explanation for joining up consisted entirely of "They started it!" and a petulant expression).

Steve had, on the other hand, been surprised to see that the Chaotic Overpower not only was familiar with the military lifestyle, but also behaved like a well trained officer. Steve had not been surprised by the fact that the Chaotic Overpower still randomly disappeared on them. Yet Steve had been surprised to learn that the Chaotic Overpower had – upon learning of Steve's loss in the ice – interrupted a speech Hitler had been making live on the radio and promptly turned the man into a kumquat.

Steve hadn't been surprised to learn that people still swore by, at and on the Chaotic Overpower in 2011. However, Steve had been very, very surprised (more so even than during the 'Llama Incident' – as Peggy had dubbed it) when Director Fury had turned up at the gym to ask him for a favour. More specifically, a favour which involved trying to coax a hysterical anthropomorphic personification of chaos to come out of Shield's flying fortress' freezer.

Steve had been uncertain at first – it wasn't that he did not still care for his old friend, but rather that he could not be certain that the Chaotic Overpower would even remember him, let alone still/currently like him enough to listen. In the end, though, Steve had agreed to try – mainly because the only other person willing to give it a go was Tony Stark …and _his_grand plan to get the Chaotic Overpower out of the freezer involved being annoying and an awful lot of alcohol.

_That _was how Steve found himself silently urging Fury to leave and knocking softly on the door to the giant walk-in freezer of a flying, but currently floating, fortress.

Once Fury had walked away, Steve knocked again and voiced the most precious and secret information he had ever been gifted with: the being's own name.

"Loki?" Steve called. "Loki, it's Steve." He paused for a moment and then softly added, "Do you remember me?"

There was a muffled sob from inside, followed by the sound of something – probably an empty ice cream tub, judging from the security camera footage of the Chaotic Overpower's earlier actions – hitting the door.

"Loki," Steve called again. "I want to help you, but I can't if you don't reply." The captain paused for a moment and then added, "And by reply I mean talk, not throw things or turn light bulbs into wombats. That one was only funny once."

There was a distinct crash on the other side of the door and then, finally, a verbal response.

"You can't come in," Loki said. "You'll freeze."

Steve smiled slightly and leaned – with one arm – against the door. "Yes," he agreed. "I will. So will you, so you need to come out."

There was an insane, broken and somehow deeply anguished burst of laughter from the other side of the freezer door.

"No," Loki choked out, "I _won't_. That's the problem." Then, after a moment's pause, he said, "I want chocolate ice-cream."

Steve blinked. "Well," he said. "You're the one in the freezer."

"She won't let me have any," replied the strange being.

"She?" Steve inquired, flummoxed. "Who's 'she'?"

"Agent Romanoff," Loki replied, bitterly. "She won't let me have any of the chocolate ice-cream."

Steve blinked, repeatedly.

"Agent Romanoff…" he replied slowly, "…is _in _the freezer?"

"She was here when I arrived," Loki stated, in a surprisingly childlike and innocent tone.

"Loki," Steve asked, "do you know why Miss Romanoff is in the freezer?"

The sounds of a muffled discussion came from inside the walk-in freezer.

Finally the sound of Loki's voice floated through the door again. "She says she had period pains and a craving for chocolate," the Chaotic Overpower recited dutifully, sounding a little less sniffly than before.

Steve flushed red and seriously considered slamming his head against the door in frustration.

"Agent Romanoff," the captain called through the door. "Loki is obviously in a great deal of distress and I'm _sure_you can go without half of your ice cream. Share it." Then, since he got the feeling the woman was about to argue, he barked, "That's an order."

A few moments later – once Steve had turned and slid down so that he was sitting on the floor and propped up against the door – a bowl of strawberry ice cream appeared in his lap.

"Of course I remember you," the Chaotic Overpower said, now sounding much closer to the door. Then, with an outright tragic note of awe in his voice, Loki added, "You were my friend." It sounded as though he could hardly believe it was possible.

"I still am your friend," Steve replied. "I will be for as long as you'll let me."

There was a distinctly feminine snort – one which seemed to imply that Agent Romanoff either found the sentiment or Steve's negotiating abilities to be ridiculous (and sappy).

There was a pause. Then a hole burned (or perhaps froze) its way through the door.

Steve blinked. After a few moments he put his ice cream to one side and turned to look through the hole – Loki was also crouched down, on his side of the door, and staring out.

"Even if I was a monster?" Loki asked, with an oddly dangerous note creeping into his tone.

"Loki," Steve said, as gently as he could. "If you were a monster, you wouldn't be asking that."

The Chaotic Overpower gave a hesitant nod and stood. A moment later the door opened.

…and that was how Steve Rogers wound up in the freezer.


End file.
